Sunday, November 06, 2011

Tramping with bikes

With the memory of a successful mountain bike mission to hotpools freshly in our minds, it was decreed that Labour weekend would be an excellent time for another expedition by bike.  More hotpools were high on the priority list, so we decided to venture one valley north and head up the Hope River in search of the hotpools above Top Hope hut.


View Tramping in a larger map

Now, before you do a trip, you should always do some research, right?  Make sure you understand the lay of the land, how far it is and how long it might take.  So, being good young technologically-savvy folk, we googled the expedition.  And found Patrick's blog.  Now the title of his blog post Mountain B-Walking to Hot Pools should perhaps have been a warning about the suitability of the track for biking.  But it was only 3 or so hours of pushing bikes.  How hard can it be?!  And besides, Steve assured us that is would be fine*.  So four intrepid adventurers set off for a long weekend of biking and hotpools.


The first challenge was taking the bikes across a swingbridge.  Now I'm quite happy to stroll across a swingbridge, pack on my back and admiring the scenery.  But taking a bike across a swingbridge is a completely different story! The easiest way is to flip the bike up on its back wheel and push it across while holding the handelbars.  Sounds all nice and happy, yeah?  In theory, this isn't bad.  Except you now have no hands available for holding onto the bridge and, inevitably, your handlebars are wider than the supports on the bridge, which means that every metre or so you have to do a complicated wiggle of the bike to make it fit through the gap.  This leads to a greater swinging of the bridge than before, the back wheel of the bike ending up in some awkward position, and a terrible buckling of the knees as the whole thing becomes way to much for the brain to cope with.  This feeling of complete and utter terror intensifies with every step until you finally reach the far side and sink into the solid ground with great relief.  And then remember that, in order to get back to the car at the end of the trip, you're going to have to do it all again!  Argh!

The grin is not happiness but more a terrified grimace and relief at almost being at the end of the bridge ordeal

After a few minutes to steady the nerves on the other side, we set off along a nice piece of 4WD road.  It climbed up a couple of steep-ish terraces out in the open and we made pretty good progress.  And then we got to the bush edge.  Now I guess that I should acknowledge that the track along the northern bank of the Hope River is a tramping track.  It was never designed for biking.  And it's not really suitable for biking.  It started out okay.  A few tree roots here and there, the odd treefall, that sort of thing but you could easily go several hundred metres at a time before having to get off to get past an obstacle.  And then it slowly deteriorated.  A nice clear section of track would reveal a fallen tree 10m around the corner.  A rooty but bike-able section would end in a gnarled tangle of roots that were dificult to walk over, let alone ride.  A tinkling stream would be nestled in a steepy, slippery gorge that threatened to suck you and your bike into a dark abyss.  Now, we had done our homework and were mentally prepared for some sections that were unrideable.  You simply get off your bike and haul it up a bank, throw it over a tree or push it over the nasty, rooty, muddy bit.  A bit of a hassle but part of the fun of mountain biking.

This type of riding inevitably leads to some spills, with the best fall of the trip once again being awarded to Steve, who ended upside down still attached to his bike.  This had unfortunate consequences for the yogurt!



After MANY hours of pushing bikes interspersed with the odd bit of riding, we reached an excellent spot for a late lunch.  I think by this point we'd been going about 4 hours and were a little weary of the bike pushing.  But a quick consultation of the map suggested that we had another 1.5 km or so of nasty track before we hit the river flats and easy riding.


Well, I reckon that that was the longest 1.5km of my life!  There were giant river boulders, nasty gutty creeks, steep banks, enormous roots, tangled treefalls and much mud.  But it did eventually end and spit us out onto a nice grassy riverbank with only the odd matagouri bush and cow to contend with.  A couple of kms of sweet, beautiful uninterupted riding.  And then another swingbridge.  Thankfully this one was on the shorter side, so didn't generate quite the same terrifying swing. But was still terrifying.  It was quickly over though and after a quick push up a nasty slimy cliff, it was back to nice riding along a 4WD track again.  Yay for nice riding.  A few kms on and we reached Saint Jacobs hut.  We stopped for a breather, were immediately mobbed by sandflies, and set about deciding what to do next.  The Top Hope hut, our intended destination, was another 7km of, theoretically, nice riding up the valley, with the hotpools another 40 mins walk beyond.  It was about 6pm and there was plenty enough light to get there but enthusiasm was on the thin side.  After much umming and ahhing and slapping of sandflies, it was decided to stay the night where we were and make a quick dash upstream in the morning to check out the hotpools.  Bikes were dropped, gear unpacked and de-yogurted, bodies washed and feet, aching much more than they should have been, put up.  A quick chat with a resident tramper confirmed that walking the track would have been far more sensible than biking it when it turned out that she had walked it an hour faster than we had "biked" it.

I had recently bought a new tent, so shunned the hut in favour of more salubrious accommodation outside under nylon.  Dinner was an extravagant affair of tomato (slightly yogurty) couscous, washed down with port.  And was followed by an excellent (if not slightly damp in my slightly condensatory tent) night's sleep.

The morning dawned bright and clear but still with little enthusiasm for biking up to the hotpools.  Admittedly, there was little enthusiasm for "biking" home again as well. Now, there is a farm track along the southern bank of the river but, having not asked permission to use it, we were reluctant to take the easy route home.  But we were more reluctant to take the hard route home.  So we cheated.  And we got caught.  And were made to go back the way we came.  But, oh the glorious non-stop riding we did before we got caught.  The farmer was very courteous and we were very apologetic and he did say that we could ride the track when he didn't have cows in the paddock but we had better ask permission first.  So, when there are no cows and we are allowed, we plan to bike this glorious piece of rideable farm track and zoom into the hotpools in a ridiculously short period of time.  It shall be fabulous.


But it was with heavy hearts that we crossed back across the river (by foot, not terrifying swingbridge) and set off back along the track.  There was more frustrating pushing of bikes but it did seem a little easier on the way out, perhaps because it was slightly downhill and therefore easier to ride.  It did still take forever and end in a swingbridge.  But wasn't entirely an unpleasant day.

Now, it may seem that I have made this out to be a horrendous trip.   I must admit that it wasn't an ideal place to take mountain bikes, particularly if this is your first mountain bike trip as it was for poor Elizabeth.  Luckily, she has yet to learn fear, so rode things that I was sceptical about.  But overall, it was a fun trip.  However, do not believe anyone who tells you it will be a nice ride.  It might be a nice tramp but is better if you leave your bike in the shed.  Consider this a cautionary tale.



Sunday night was spent consuming enormous burgers and watching NZ narrowly beat France to win the Rugby World Cup in a random pub in Hanmer.  That is, we were in a random pub, not the All Blacks.  And then a quick blat around the mountain bike tracks in Hanmer on Monday.  Oh what a novelty to be able to ride more than 100m before being forced off by some obstacle.  It was fabulous.  Then back to Christchurch for a superb dinner of experimental homemade pizza with Patrick and Maaike.

*We talked to the third member of Patrick and Steve's trip and his response was "Why would you want to go there?  It was horrible!". Interesting how different people remember trips.  

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Hurunui hotpools

This year we actually trained for the Spring Challenge which was a little bit of a novelty.  It also meant that we got out on some sweet trips, including a great overnight ride to the Hurunui hotpools.



I'd never been on any overnight mountain bike trips before, but after some careful packing to ensure that we all had matching bikes and packs, we three intrepid Mighty Midgets & a Mighty Midget's Man set off into the sunshine.
It's a relatively easy ride around the side of the lake and would have been quite pleasant if it hadn't been for the strong headwind.   But it was good practise for drafting and we set up a pretty good paceline to keep us zooming along.  The track was a combination of gravel and 4WD road, with a pretty rideable surface.  There quite a few gates to throw bikes over though and during one of these brief interludes, I somehow managed to flick a tendon out from under my ankle bone.  Not really sure how – I didn’t actually do anything.  Got off my bike, lifted it over a gate, got back on my bike and it hurt.  Weird.  Luckliy doesn’t seem to have done any lasting damage but was not particularly pleasant for riding.  Because of this, we decided to take a “shortcut” along the walking track to the hut rather than crossing the river and biking along the flat before crossing back again.  Shortcuts are never a good idea and this certainly wasn’t.  Very little of the track was actually rideable and there was a lot of swearing as we pushed and carried our bikes over particularly nasty sections of track (think treefalls on the side of a muddy hill scattered with possum carcasses).
The training plan was to try and do a 10 hour day: 3 hours or so of biking and then an expedition up the valley on foot, culminating in a soak in the Hurunui hotpools.  I decided to call it a day when we got to the hut but the others continued on up the valley like good little things.  I lazed around in what was left of the sunshine and read and reread the meagre pickings of reading material in the hut.  I may have closed my eyes for a second or too.  Maybe. 
Despite my injury, I was feeling pretty smug about our efforts.  We had biked about 20km offroad with relatively packs without much difficulty.  Then Jackson arrived.  On his bike.  Having come 150km from Christchurch.  With another 3-4 days of biking in the pipeline, including a fairly hefty pass over which he planned on carrying his bike.  That kinda put our efforts into perspective.  The rest of our intrepid bunch returned after soaking in the hotpools with a meteorological jellyfish to decorate the hut and we quickly demolished a hearty meal of blue cheese and mushroom pasta before retiring to bed.
The next day dawned in glorious sunshine and, with a relatively happy ankle, we set off.  After a short pleasant ride down the way we should have come up the day before, we were confronted with the first obstacle of the day: a river crossing.  Nothing like starting the day with cold, wet feet.  But it was quickly over and we were on our way again.  



Until we got to the next river crossing.  Michelle decided she didn't want to cross the river again and had some fun fighting with the swingbridge. I was quite impressed that she actually got onto the bridge – it was mighty steep!

The ride home passed relatively quickly after that, with some amusing moments to pass the time. 

Steve was very helpful demonstrating riding techniques, particularly how NOT to ride through mud.

Poor Bike!  And then he cleaned it by riding into the lake  (You should watch this with sound to hear the cackling girls as he goes over the handlebars for the third time that day).




It was a shame not to actually make it to the hotpools but at least I have a reason to go again and perhaps achieve #?? on the list of 32 things.  I'm starting to like this mountain biking business, particularly long trips.  Which is probably lucky, considering #1 on the list.  But more about that some other time.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

32 things

Seeing I seem to be on a blogging roll at the moment (I'm "working from home"), it seems timely to put up the new list. The list of 32 things I want to do while I'm 32. If you're checked out any of the old lists, you'll notice that a few things have rolled over (some for the fifth time!). Hopefully, this year......


I will need help completing my list, so let me know if you want to come and play on one (or more) of my adventures. Or if you have any useful skills (like coding in Python) that might be useful or want to offer me a job! The more people that play in the list-crossing-off, the better!


Here goes......

1. Bike the Great Divide
2. Compete in the 12 hour Spring Challenge
3. Put my clipless pedals back on my mountain bike
4. Run 500 km
5. Compete in a triathlon
6. Photograph a snow petrel
7. Publish the remaining whio papers
8. Complete a half marathon
9. Go cycle touring
10. Make Albert Monkey
11. Publish an Antarctic paper
12. Compete in a road bike race
13. Knit/crochet a jersey
14. Compete in a mountain bike race
15. Climb a grade 17
16. Buy a macro lens
17. Ride a century in a day
18. Spend a night at the Sign of the Packhorse
19. Sew an item of clothing
20. Organise a clothes swap party
21. Present a paper at ICCB 2011
22. Empty out my storage shed of crap
23. Buy knee-high boots
24. Make bagels
25. Go back to Antarctica
26. Have a hot pool party
27. Apply for a post-doc position
28. Publish the shrub paper
29. Lecture in a university course
30. Do some volunteer work
31. Learn a new skill
32. Go on an outdoor adventure at least once a month (SONDJFMAMJJA)

A recap of 31 things


It's that time of year when another birthday has passed and it's time to start working on the next list.  So I'd thought I'd do a quick recap of how things went on the list of 31 things.  I am the first to admit that it wasn't a particularly good year for crossing things off.  Some of this was out of my control; earthquakes and the crazy year that has ensured since September 4 2010 has put a lot of things on hold or made them difficult.  As did going to Antarctica and missing out on most of a summer, although I'm more than happy to have this as an excuse.  Other things have just slipped off the bottom of the list without getting done for no apparent reason (or they were somewhat optimistic anyway!).  I've added in links to relevant blog posts in case you missed out on the details.

This has to be the highlight of the past year.  What an amazing experience.  And even better I get to do it all again this coming year.

2. Ride Long Bays
I would have loved to have ridden Long Bays, a cycle route that follows the Port Hills and edge of the Lyttleton Harbour. But unfortunately the road was damaged, probably beyond repair, in the earthquakes. I did ride this instead, which is probably about as close as you can get these days.


3. Submit a sturgeon manuscript
Seven years on, this is probably never going to happen!  Unless somebody teaches me to code in Python.

4. Run 500 km
According to my Nike+ whatsit, I only managed to run 92km!  This is a bit dismal really, but I've been doing loads of other stuff and am probably about as fit as I've ever been.  So I'm happy.  This seems to have migrated on to the next list, so we'll see what happens.

5. Compete in a triathlon
Unfortunately the February earthquake got in the way of post-Antarctic triathlons.  Next list....

6. Photograph a leopard seal
Leopard seal found and photographed (although not very well)

7. Publish the whio HQ paper
After being rejected a mammoth seven times, I think we are almost there.  Just redoing some of the analysis.

8. Complete a half marathon
I obviously didn't do enough training (see #5), so this never happened!

9. Go cycle touring
I didn't really go cycle touring, although we did do an overnight trip recently on our mountain bikes up the Hurunui.  Which I think is close enough to count.  I'm crossing it off.


10. Compete in a multi-sport event
Once again the Mighty Midgets competed in the 6 hour Spring Challenge.  And we did pretty well, apart from a minor navigational oops near the end.  I love this event. In fact, so much that we are doing the 12 hour version next weekend!

11. Start a post doctoral position
I applied for a postdoc scholarship to look marine reserves in the Ross Sea but alas the powers to be decided that it wasn't worthy.  So I've continued to contract for Landcare Research and am involved in some pretty interesting work.  Maybe next year I'll get a proper job.

12. Compete in a road bike race
Once again, I'm blaming earthquakes.

13. Travel internationally>
I went to Antarctica, of course, but that doesn't really count as kiwis don't get their passports stamped in either direction as we never leave kiwi soil.  So I had to find another trip to go on.  And what better excuse than to visit Hamish in Perth, where he's busy drilling holes looking for minerals to dig up.  I also got to spend some time in Melbourne due to some freak weather in NZ.

14. Knit/crochet a jersey
I did knit a jersey.  And then I undid it.  I really need to learn to read and make the gauge swatches before I get all enthusiastic about knitting the whole thing.  Hopefully next year I will knit (and keep knitted) a jersey!

15. Compete in a mountain bike race
Blaming earthquakes.  Actually more, general unfitness coming back from Antarctica.  This year I really need to do some exercise when I'm down there!

16. Buy decent binoculars
I never got around to doing this but they are still on my wishlist.  Did get to try out Hamish's twitcher-goggles (his term, not mine) while in Aussie.

17. Climb a grade 16 on rock
There has been a distinct lack of climbable rock in Christchurch recently.  What with all falling down around your ears everytime the earth moves.  Which it does frequently.  But I have started climbing inside on the wall and will hopefully be able to tick this off this coming year.

18. Submit the final whio paper
I need to publish the other ones first.  And given that this hasn't happened yet, I can't cross this one off.  Soon, hopefully.

19. Learn to ride my mountain bike clipless
I put my pedals on.  Went for one ride.  And promptly took them off again.  Scared shitless would be a good description of my mental state.  But I've done a bunch more riding since then and am way more confident.  So, after the Sprin Challenge, they are going back on and staying on.  Be prepared for stories of pedal-induced falls!

20. Buy a macro lens
Same story as the binoculars really.

21. Buy a tripod
I bought a really nice tripod before going down to the ice and I think I've only used it once.  No, twice.  I really need to do LOTS more photography.  And play with my tripod.

22. Re-instate my blog
Check!

23. Ride a century in a day
Pen and I had great plans of biking from Cave Stream back to Lincoln and I'm not really sure why we never did it.  We mapped it out, we flew it in Google Earth but we never actually rode it.  This summer, right Pen!

24. Spend a night at the Sign of the Packhorse
Did you know that this has now been on four lists and has never been crossed off.  How ridiculous.  It's all of two hours walk and should be super-easy to do.  I debated whether to add it to the list of 32 things, given that it hasn't happened yet.  I'm giving it one more year.  Surely we can make this happen in year five!

25. Learn to do Bayesian statistics
Done.  I'm definitely no expert but I have almost finished a nifty analysis trying to figure out how many birds live on some islands in Northland.  Pretty fun (if statistics can be fun).


26. Crochet a sunhat
This is another one of those cases where I finished the task and then promptly undid it again because I wasn't really that happy with the result.  But I did it!

27. Make gallstone jewellery
Unfortunately (although some may say fortunately), these got lost when I moved.  Oh well.....

28. Make marmalade
Yum.  I need to make some more.

29. Take a polar plunge
There is something a little mad about jumping into -1.9C water, complete with icebergs, penguins, leopard seals and orca.  But you have to do it.  Sorry, no photographic evidence - it would have needed censoring anyway.

30. Make sour dough bread
I managed to keep a batch of sour dough going for most of the time we were on the ice.  Although I'm not sure the little beasties were that happy about the cold.

31. Go on an outdoor adventure at least once a month (SONDJFMAMJJA)
There were lots of outdoor adventures this year.  Antarctica, for one.  Lots of tramping trips, mountain bike trips, rogaines, adventure races, skiing ......  It's been a fun year.





I always come up with a few things to add to the list.  Things that I never thought I'd be doing but they usually turn out to be a lot of fun....

32. Compete in the national rogaine champs
Michelle and I carved up a storm at the National Rogaine Champs in Blenheim, coming in 7th in the Open Women.  An entertaining 24 hours of wandering around trying not to get lost.

33. Sign up for the 12 hour Spring Challenge
Oh dear, what have we done!  Will report back in a couple of weeks with how we went.

34. Compete in TWALK
Another 24 hour rogaine event, this time with Maaike and Elizabeth.  More fun, getting lost in the dark.  This time in costume.

35. Compete in Heights of Winter
A 12 hour event, getting lost in the dark.  There seems to be a running theme here!

36. Go cross-country skiing
A fantastic girl's weekend (and then some) cross-country skiing down in Wanaka.


So it's been a pretty busy year of being 31.  I've managed to fit in a lot of fun stuff, do some work and generally have a great time.  Here's looking forward to crossing off 32 things!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Cross-country skiing

A few months ago one of our friends moved down to Cromwell, and it was decided before she left that we would have to have a girl's weekend down there at some point in the future.  Now it should be noted, before you start conjuring up visions of us sitting round getting manicures and having pillowfights in our pyjamas, that we aren't particularly girly girls.  No indeedy.  In fact, it was decreed that our girl's weekend should consist of something adventurous, and so we set off on a cross-country skiing expedition.

After a pleasant Friday exploring the sights of Arrowtown and Cromwell and celebrating Clare's birthday, we set off up the mountain to the Snow Farm.  After getting fitted out with skis and leaving our overnight gear in a pile for the skidoo, we ventured outside for a few pre-skiing photographs and a lesson.

Now cross-country skis aren't anything like downhill skis.  For starters, your heel isn't attached to the back of the ski.  And then, more scarily, you don't have any edges on your skis.  Which means that everything you have ever learnt about stopping and turning instantly goes out the window.  When asked about how to stop, our helpful instructor offered the following wisdom: "Just keep going until you run out of hill.  Or failing that, fall over" Helpful!  Thankfully there are grooves along the tracks that your skis fit into which mostly takes care of the turning bit.  Except when the grooves randomly stop and your legs do their own thing, usually in different directions!

Here Rachel demonstrates a perfect racer's tuck, and then the grooves run out.....best watched with the sound on for the full "chicken" effect.

After our lesson, we were let loose and it was on to the Bob Lee Hut - our overnight destination.  It was an absolutely amazing day.  Perfect weather and great company, interspersed with hilarious skiing moments.

Happily skiing along the trail in the glorious sunshine
Lunch stop at the Meadow Hut
Maaike demonstrating her seated stopping technique.
It might look like I'm in control
 but all goes wrong very shortly after this photograph!

The Bob Lee Hut was reached without too much drama and proved to be a cosy place to stay the night. Our gear had kindly been delivered by skidoo, so we had been able to pack some tasty treats.  We cooked up a storm (it turned out, quite literally) and were treated to a stunning sunset before retiring to bed to rest some weary (and newly-discovered) muscles.

Preparing a stunning dinner of green curry and mulled wine

Maaike proudly showing off her multitude of stripes (and sexy pink slippers)
The next day we woke to snow.  Of the falling variety.  In fact, of the blizzard variety.  We hastily packed our gear and set off into the gloom, trying to get out to the carpark before the storm really set in.  There was quite a bit of fresh snow on the tracks, making it difficult to find the grooves for your skis, let alone stay in them!  It was cold and windy and we were rugged up in all of the clothing we had with us.  I was even wearing my Antarctica balaclava that I never wore on the ice.  It was cold. But it was still great skiing and a lot of fun.  In fact, I think the contrast in the weather added a lot to the trip and gave us some stories of epic skiing missions to tell for years to come.

Check out these happy ladies (at least I think Michelle & I are happy - it's a bit hard to tell!)

Now it turned out that this was not the end of our adventure.  The heavy snow meant that the roads were somewhat treachorous and we had an interesting drive down the mountain, followed by a mad dash to get to Queenstown before the road closed.  Even in a 4WD, the roads were nasty with almost 10cm on the ground and more falling rapidly.  Dave managed to get us to Queenstown, just.   And then get himself back home again.  Checked in to our accommodation to find that Rachel's flight had been cancelled, so four hungry skiers headed into town for dinner.  The next morning woke to more snow and more cancelled flights, so it was off to book a bus and then explore the sights (or at least the open ones) of a very snowy Queenstown.  Having not seen any men for a few days, we built one of our own.

Tuesday bought us more snow, a cancelled bus, two trips to the wool shop, another cancelled bus and then, finally, a bus home to Christchurch.  Via Dunedin!  Let's just say that this is not a very direct route and not one I would recommend (unless desperate).

So another epic adventure and one that I would totally recommend (maybe without the snow storm and getting stranded bits).  Cross-country skiing is definitely something i enjoyed crossing off my list and I'm keen to add it to another list sometime soon.

Speaking of lists, it's time for new list of 32 things.  Check back soon!

Friday, September 02, 2011

Crochet yoga mat bag

A REALLY long time ago, I was bored on a plane and ended up crocheting a yoga mat bag.




I was looking for a quick, easy project to use up some cotton yarn in my stash the other day, so I decided to make a bag for my yoga mat which was languishing untidily in the bottom of my cupboard. Searching on the web failed to find a pattern that I liked, so I ended up making one up. The following is my attempt to put my random pattern down on paper. Please let me know if you find any mistakes or need clarification.

I used:
1 ball Cleckheaton cotton
5mm crochet hook
1 large button

a length of cord (I used an i-cord made with 4 mm needles)

This pattern is written to fit a yoga mat with a rolled diameter of 11 cm. I don't do gauge, so you may need to adjust the pattern a little, depending on the size of your mat, yarn and hook.

Chain 6 and sl to first chain to form a loop (or make a magic circle)
Row 1: Ch 3, 11 tr into circle, sl to join to chain (12 stitches)

Row 2: Ch 3, 2 tr into each tr, sl to join to chain (24 stitches)

Row 3: Ch 3, tr into first stitch, *2tr, tr, repeat from * until end , sl to join to chain (36 stitches)

Note: This should be the diameter of your mat. If not, you may need to add another row or adjust the size of your hook. Check out this guide to crocheting circles if you need help. You need to make sure that the number of stitches in the finished circle is a multiple of three to make the pattern work

Crochet into the back of each stitch for Row 4.
Row 4: Ch 3, tr into each tr, sl to join to chain (36 stitches)

Row 5: Ch 3, *skip 2 stitches, tr into next stitch, ch3, tr into same stitch. Repeat from * until end. sl to join to third stitch in initial chain.

Row 6: Chain 3, *tr into next stitch, ch3, tr into same stitch. Repeat from * until end. sl to join to third stitch in initial chain.

Repeat Row 6 until bag is 1 inch less than desired length.

Finishing rounds:

Row 7: Ch 3, 3 tr into each stitch, sl to join.

Row 8: Ch 1, sc in each stitch

Thread the cord around the top of the bag and tie or sew a small loop in the end. Thread the free end of the cord through this loop and either sew to the bottom or attach using a large button threaded through the starting circle at the base of the bag.







#13. My unintended stay in Melbourne

My trip to Australia was not without its travel-related dramas, proving once again the benefits of having travel insurance.

On the way there, my flight was delayed because the plane was broken.  Meaning I missed my flight from Melbourne to Perth and ended up spending a night in a hotel.  On the way home, my flight from Melbourne to Christchurch was cancelled because the Christchurch airport was closed due to snow.  "Oh dear" said the grumpy lady at the checkin counter, "the next available flight is not until Wednesday evening".  Given that it was 5:30am on Monday and I had just flown 4 hours from Perth after leaving my better half behind, I wasn't all too happy.

I must have looked a little forlorn because I was promptly adopted by a lovely family from Bahrain, currently living in Rolleston.  They dragged me along to get some breakfast,  sorted out my flights, booked me into a swanky hotel with them (an indoor pool was on their "must-have" list) and rented a car to drive us all into town.

I hadn't been to Melbourne before (one night in the airport hotel on the way over doesn't count!), so I spent Monday wandering the streets and marvelling at the quirkiness of the city.  A pleasant change from the almost industrial feel of Perth.  Then it was down to the information centre to figure out how to spend the rest of my bonus holiday.

I'd heard a bit about the Great Ocean road and found a small company that did tours.  So we set off on Tuesday morning to see the sights of the Great Ocean Road.


View Australia in a larger map


The first stop was Bell's Beach, one of the world's best surf beaches.  There wasn't a whole lot happening with the surf that day but I can just imagine those big ocean swells rolling in all the way from Antarctica.  Certainly put the piddly surf we'd been seeing in Western Australia into perspective.


This tour provided a few new species to tick off my list of Australian things.  Including crimson rosellas, king parrots and kookaburras.

  

After winding our way around some stunning coastline, we stopped for lunch at the Ottway lighthouse.


where they were a little concerned about the one's proximity to the cliff edge

and had a few problems with the bicycles.

While in Perth, Hamish and I had dutifully stopped and taken pictures of koala in an inclosure, so that I could say that I had seen some.  Well, it turned out that we shouldn't have bothered.  The trees around the Ottway lighthouse were full of koala.  All looking quite sleepy and a bit stoned on gum leaves.  They didn't really do anything but they were quite cute.  Koalas - check.


The penultimate stop of the trip was the twelve apostles. These are giant limestone stacks that have been eroded out of the nearby cliffs by the action of the waves.  I'm not really sure why they are the twelve apostles, there are currently only eight (they periodically collapse) and apparently there have never been twelve, but they were pretty spectacular.  




And so ended my unintended trip to Melbourne.  Not somewhere I had planned to go but definitely a place I'd like to visit again.  Thanks travel insurance for a great extension to my holiday!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

#13. Aussie Road Trip

It's always time for a road trip. And this year, it was time for a road trip, Western Australia style. Hamish moved to Perth for work earlier this year, so it seemed like a good opportunity to check out some new places across the ditch and catch up with the boy at the same time. We didn't have a plan, other than drive north and see what could be found along the way. (Warning: This post has a *high geological content*).

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The first stop was The Pinnacles at Nambung National Park - weird and somewhat phallic-looking limestone formations.

And some big and impressive limestone cliffs.

And some weird fossilised corals.

And some more impressive cliffs along the edge of the river through Kalbarri National Park.

Fossilised ripples were common, as was this fossilised brain(-like) thing. We also saw some fossilised arthropod footprints which I neglected to photograph.

But I did snap this wedge-tailed eagle munching on some kangaroo roadkill while driving up to Shark Bay

where we set up camp in this amazing spot with stunning views.

No geological trip to Western Australia would be complete with a visit to the stromatolites at Shark Bay. These are basically living rocks and, to most people, are probably about exciting to look at as dead rocks. But to two geeks, this was pretty cool. In fact, it was the main reason we drove all that way to Shark Bay and was totally worth it!

We found more stromatolites and their thrombolite cousins at Lake Thetis.

No trip to Australia would be complete without seeing lots of weird wildlife. We definitely found our share (but thankfully no snakes - the benefit of going in the winter).


There was a sleepy lizard, complete with ticks in the corner of its mouth,

a very fuzzy emu running away at great speed,

a hawk on a grass tree,

a fuzzy kangaroo running away,

a yellow spoonbill,

and the elusive echidna that insisted on digging holes around our tent but not coming out to play in the daylight!

And of course, the resident geologist!

A fantastic holiday! Definitely a part of the world I'd like to visit again and a lad I'd like to see more of!